Low-cost carrier IndiGo on Thursday launched its maiden international flight from the national capital to Dubai, becoming only the fourth Indian low-cost carrier to operate overseas services.

Low-cost carrier IndiGo on Thursday launched its maiden international flight from the national capital to Dubai, becoming only the fourth Indian low-cost carrier to operate overseas services.

"Dubai is a key market for us and holds a lot of promise. We hope to provide the much needed avenue for countless Indians and overseas travellers," IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh said.

The new service will be operated from Terminal-3 (T3) of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) at Delhi.

"IndiGo will operate daily direct flight services between Dubai-Delhi and Delhi-Dubai at an affordable return fare of Rs 9,999 inclusive of all taxes," the firm said in a statement.

The airline added that it plans to operate Mumbai-Dubai-Mumbai flight from October 2.

The airline got the permission to fly overseas after it fulfilled the regulatory requirements of five years of operations and a fleet of at least 20 aircraft.

It is the fourth low-cost carrier after Air India Express, JetLite and SpiceJet to be given the permission to run overseas services.

According to officials of civil aviation watchdog, the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA), IndiGo's international rights will allow operations from many cities in India to Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and Muscat, to begin with.

The budget airline had stunned the Indian aviation space in January when it announced a $15 billion deal with the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for buying 180 A-320 aircraft.